Accused in Philly dungeon case a convicted killer 

Bond at $2.5 million for disabled adults' accused captors


Reuters
First posted:
Linda Weston
Linda Westen, 50, in a photo released 
PHILADELPHIA - Bond was set at $2.5 million each on Monday for the three people accused of locking four mentally disabled adults in a filthy Philadelphia basement to cash in on their disability checks, authorities said.
The accused ringleader, convicted murderer Linda Weston, 50, was said to have posed as the victims' caregiver to cash their disability checks. Two of the captives were held for 11 years and referred to Weston as "Mom," police said.
Weston was aided by homeless man Eddie Wright, 51, and Philadelphia resident Gregory Thomas, 48, Philadelphia Police spokeswoman Jillian Russell said.
None of the captors posted bond. Weston will appear in court on Thursday, Russell said.
The three defendants were charged on Sunday with kidnapping, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and other charges in connection with the alleged fraud, Philadelphia Police Sergeant Joseph Green said.
The four victims, three men and a woman, were found on Saturday confined in a small, dirty basement boiler room that contained a mattress with some bedding and a flat board with a pillow. One victim was chained to a radiator, Russell said.
"There were a couple water bottles but no food or anything," Green said. "There was a bucket they used to urinate in."
At least two of the victims traveled with Weston as she moved from city to city, police said. She had traveled to Texas and Florida, Green said.
The other two had been with Weston since February, and all of them arrived in Philadelphia earlier this month, he said.
Green said Weston may have others in captivity but was not cooperating with the investigation, which was handled by local law enforcement, the FBI and the federal Social Security Administration.
After they were discovered, the victims were taken for "much needed medical attention" at area hospitals, Green said. They were moved on Sunday to a city-run shelter where they were receiving counseling and care, he added.